Elizabeth Kay's Blog

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Who wants some wine?

by Elizabeth Kay,posted Jun 7 2010 1:52PM

I'm almost done with the dream kitchen that I'm working on with Kaerek Homes in West Allis (it will be featured in this year's MBA Parade of Homes Tour).
I'm a big time wino and I thought it might be neat to add a built in wine rack to go with this beautiful kitchen. What do you think? Does it run a big risk of making the kitchen too personalized if not anyone enjoys wine? Or will it add class and elegance and become a beautiful place to showcase some vintage wine or sparkling wine glasses?
Please send me your suggestions - they have all been great suggestions so far and I can't wait for all of you to see the finished product during the MBA Parade of Homes Tour August 21st - September 12th.

I am also a wino so I'd love to have this in my home. I think it's a great selling feature. Only draw back I can see is people who do not drink wine would not be interested in this. I listen every AM and today was the first time I heard the word forclosures. I am also interested and have some questions as it would be my first time. I then decided to look at the website (should have done much earlier). I have learned some interesting info when you decide to rent yours out. 1)when you recieve your first months rent and deposit, do NOT hand over the keys until the check clears. 2) Do not hand over the keys until the utilites have also been turned on in their names. THEN give them the keys. A friend I work with her husband rents out homes. He felt he had a good renter. She is a RN with husband and children. The he gave them the keys after she wrote a first check to him for $1800.00. She moved in, check bounced.Utlities are not in her name and now they have to serve eviction notice which is expensive and time consuming. I thought you should know this.

Bieber's Roast Airs
It seems like the roast that would never end, but the Comedy Central roast of Justin Bieber finally aired last night.
The folks at ABC News provide a two-minute summary on this morning's "The Skinny."
Check it out for a clean breakdown of the show.
If you believe the clips, it looks like the Biebs had some of the best lines of the night.

Meet the New Daily Show Host
Comedy Central announced yesterday the replacement for Jon Stewart on The Daily Show.
Just as everyone expected, the new host is... Trevor Noah?
Um, sorry, who?
Trevor's relatively new to The Daily Show.
Heck, he's relatively new to the US, having arrived at both spots back in December - four months ago - from his native South Africa.
In fact, back then, he made his debut appearance on The Daily Show as a correspondent.
Now, suddenly, he's the new host. As others scramble to find out more about him, why not just sit back and watch that debut..

Oh No He Didn't...
Justin Bieber took the stage as a back-up singer with Ariana Grande in Miami over the weekend.
His job: help her with "Love Me Harder."
And he couldn't do it. He flubbed the lines, then gave up and started dancing on stage and greeting fans to cover for his failed memory.
He apologized repeatedly to Ariana on stage.. And he did so on Instagram afterwards as well.
Accepted or not, I'll bet it's the last time he's invited to be Ariana's back-up...
Had fun with u Ariana, even tho I forgot all the words haha
A photo posted by Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) on Mar 28, 2015 at 8:46pm PDT

The Beginning of The New World
Jay Z enlisted some top-level friends to help him announce his new streaming music service, Tidal.
Beyonce was there, of course, and Kanye. But so was Madonna, and Nicki Minaj, and Jason Aldean, and Chris Martin, and more.
Dozens of artists, in the room and on-line, to hear about and lend support to Jay Z's game changing idea.
His plan is to get consumers to pay for music they're used to streaming for free.
You laugh, but it worked for Netflix.
The man could really be on to something big here...

Sound of Music... Peter Pan... The Wiz?
NBC announced plans to produce another live musical right around Thanksgiving.
Two years ago, it was Sound of Music starring Carrie Underwood.
Last year, it was Peter Pan starring Alison Williams.
This year, it's The Wiz.
Right. The Wiz. The urban twist on the classic Wizard of Oz.
Debuted on Broadway in the mid-70s, Turned into a movie in 1978, starring Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow, and Richard Pryor as the Wiz.
Not exactly a classic.
But, it will be the third installment in NBC's franchise - for lack of a better term.
Already, suggestions are being made for the casting.
Beyonce as Glinda. Pharrell as the Tin Man.
Not seeing Kanye mentioned anywhere - but he'll trying to pick up an Emmy for it anyway...
Meanwhile, here's a sampling of the King of Pope as the Scarecrow.

Something Old Really Works
Here's a head-scratcher: some scientists in England have found a way to kill the hospital superbug known as MRSA.
Great news, you say. How did they do it?
Simple. They cooked up a compound from a recipe found in a book about 1000 years old.
The book is called Bald's Leecbook, and the treatment is for styes.
Take cropleek and garlic, of both equal quantities, pound them well together… take wine and bullocks gall, mix with the leek… let it stand nine days in the brass vessel…
The scientists followed the directions and when they tested it, found that it had a 90% success rate in killing the bacteria generally blamed for MRSA.
This could turn into something.
Up next: applying Game of Thrones strategies to current warfare.
Step 1: get a dragon...

Deer Season is Open
The folks at Disney have been busy turning cartoon characters into live-action characters.
We've had Maleficent, and most recently, Cinderella.
So why not take the same approach with Bambi?
Great idea, and played up perfectly by the folks at Saturday Night Live with a little help - okay, a lot of help - from Dwayne "The Rock" Johnston.
Check it out!

And This is Why I Don't Go on Rollercoasters...
Opening day for the Coney Island Cyclone, one of the world's most historic wooden rollercoasters, didn't go so well for the first riders of the season.
At the top of its first hill, just before the first drop, the coaster stopped dead in its tracks.
Riders were stranded, and had to be walked down by emergency personnel.
Like rollercoasters aren't already scary enough, now this happens?
But what do you want to bet that most of them will climb back aboard as soon as the ride's running again?

Wait a Minute, What?
Furious 7 - the seventh installment in the Fast & Furious franchise - is set to open up in theaters in a couple of weeks.
The hype for it has been huge.
Naturally, everyone thinks the "7" in the title refers to it being the "seventh" film.
Right?
Wrong. According to the director, James Wan, says he wanted to actually spell out the "seven" in the title, as an homage to Seven Samurai.
It's about seven warriors, I guess, and not about counting how many films there've been.
Who knew?

Behind the Times?
President Obama sat down last week to talk with David Simon, the creator of The Wire, the critically-acclaimed TV show.
The idea was to discuss what Simon observed about crime in the inner city that drove him to create the show.
The guy's a former cop, so it's probably a valuable chat.
But those observations are over a dozen years old. The Wire ran between 2002 and 2008.
Relevant? Or just an opportunity for the First Fan to talk to the guy who created one of his favorite shows?
What do you think?

Unintentional Photo Bomb
Kim Kardashian must have been having an off day.
There was a camera pointed her way, and she didn't manage to strike a pose.
Instead, it sort of looks like she's picking her toes Or perhaps grabbing for her pocketbook.
Kanye, on the other side, looks so very Kanye-ish. And ironically, he's the one showing sideboob in this picture, not his wife.
Go figure...
Lunch with Lilou at Nobu!! #Lilou #NobuSundays #greatcompany #Carolin #papaB @casiebamford @malibubuffy @anneysenring @jasoncampbellmalibu
A photo posted by alibambam (@alibambam) on Mar 22, 2015 at 4:48pm PDT

Arnold's Human Side
Arnold Schwarzenegger has a new movie coming out called Maggie.
It's a zombie flick, but more than that.
The advance buzz on it is pretty good, and no one seems happier about it than Arnold himself.
Check out the post to his Facebook page late last week... (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));
I'm really proud of my new film, Maggie. This is the most human zombie film you’ve ever seen, and it’s the most human...
Posted by Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday, March 25, 2015

What is Wrong with People?
A meteorologist on Global News News Hour Plus in Canada took to the airwaves last Thursday to discuss a hate letter.
Kristi Gordon is pregnant, and got a nastygram about the way she looks on the news.
Calling her "gross," the viewer wrote further: “Your front end looks like the Hindenburg and your rear-end looks like a brick sh—house. We now turn off Global."
Actually, she's gotten a few, and she decided to talk about it on the air with the news co-anchors.
The male anchor didn't think they should give the letter any attention. "Haters gonna hate," he said, "as some rapper may have said."
The female anchor corrected him immediately, which is the funniest put-down I've seen in a long while.
Check out the whole thing... Sparks some interesting discussion.

They're Stripes and You've Earned Them
Rachel Hollis is a 32-year-old mom of three, and she's not afraid to wear a bikini to the beach.
She writes a lifestyle blog called The Chic Site, and used it to share an Instagram picture of herself on the beach in a two-piece, and she's inspiring women around the world to celebrate their mom-bods.
"I have stretch marks and I wear a bikini," she wrote. "I have a belly that's permanently flabby from carrying three giant babies and I wear a bikini. My belly button is saggy... (which is something I didn't even know was possible before!!) and I wear a bikini. I wear a bikini because I'm proud of this body and every mark on it."
Check out the picture, and the rest of what she has to say.
I have stretch marks and I wear a bikini. I have a belly that's permanently flabby from carrying three giant babies and I wear a bikini. My belly button is saggy... (which is something I didn't even know was possible before!!) and I wear a bikini. I wear a bikini because I'm proud of this body and every mark on it. Those marks prove that I was blessed enough to carry my babies and that flabby tummy means I worked hard to lose what weight I could. I wear a bikini because the only man who's opinion matters knows what I went through to look this way. That same man says he's never seen anything sexier than my body, marks and all. They aren't scars ladies, they're stripes and you've earned them. Flaunt that body with pride! #HollisHoliday
A photo posted by Rachel Hollis (@msrachelhollis) on Mar 21, 2015 at 9:21am PDT

Thanks, Obama!
This could be one of the most bizarre stories ever.
A woman is suing the City of New York after she was locked up unnecessarily in a psychiatric ward for eight days following the confiscation of her car by the authorities.
She admits she got a little high-strung while trying to get her BMW back from the police, but when she tried to prove what an upstanding citizen she was by showing that Barack Obama followed her on Twitter, she got locked up.
Here's the kicker - turns out that @BarackObama does follow her on Twitter - except it's not POTUS, it's one of his campaign non-profit organizations.
Still, eight days in the psych ward and a bill for $13,000 for the stay seems a bit much, don't you think?

Pranking for Lenovo
Ashton Kutcher's roots are in pranks. You of course remember his Punk'd on MTV.
And he's also the pitchman for Lenovo computers.
So why not take the two and put them together Down Under?
Great idea. And that's exactly what he did.
Watch what happens when Ashton goes undercover in an Australian department store, pitching the new Lenovo tablets to unsuspecting customers...

Got a Drone and a Lot of Spare Time?
It's amazing how inventive some folks can be.
Take Oliver C... He's a YouTuber, probably from France, who designs flying objects with the help of drones.
His latest creation is an imperial star destroyer from Star Wars.
All you need is some foam, some aluminum and a remote-control drone, and you too could be the king of the geeks in your neighborhood...

Son of Coach?
NBC announced that it has ordered 13 episodes of Coach, starring Craig T. Nelson.
You might remember that Coach, starring Craig T. Nelson, ran on ABC for nine seasons, ending in 1997.
Yes, it's the same show, 18 years later.
It picks up sort of where the original ended. Coach's adopted son is now a coach, and Coach has to deal with that.
No word yet on whether other original cast members will return, since nothing's been written yet.
The whole thing was settled in a pitch meeting... Seems almost too easy, doesn't it?
Here's a fun little clip of Craig T. Nelson meeting the Coach from the Toyota ads a couple of years ago, talking about that show they both loved so much...

Now Playing, Sauce Castillo!
The people who do closed captioning for sporting events have a rough job.
Hear it and type it, hear it and type it.
They do their best to get it right, but sometimes, they're blunders are epic.
Take this one. Nik Stauskas is a guard for the Sacramento Kings in the NBA.
Except according to the closed-caption operator the other night, his name is actually SAUCE CASTILLO.
It could easily have been one of those things no one noticed, but someone did, and now it's Nik's new name.
Check out the video on the Kings' website. And check out what Nik had to say about it on Twitter, where the name has gone a little viral...
Wait what does "Sauce Castillo" mean? Since when was that my nickname lol!! 😂😂
— Nik Stauskas (@NStauskas11) March 26, 2015

That Knot is Tied
Country star Jason Aldean tied the knot last Saturday with Brittany Kerr.
Yesterday, Brittany made it official by posting a picture of herself wearing a "Wifey" shirt to Instagram.
❤️
A photo posted by @brittanylkerr on Mar 25, 2015 at 12:45pm PDT
The wedding was held in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
And in the You-Can't-Make-This-Stuff-Up Department, the nuptials were officiated by Willie Robertson.
Yes, that Willie Robertson - the one from Duck Dynasty.

Nice to Meet You - You Are Dismissed
I guess everyone has a breaking point.
It's got to be rough when you're on a publicity junket halfway around the world and reporters start asking silly questions.
Take for instance Cate Blanchett.
She was in Australia on a show called The Project to promote her new film, Cinderella.
The report kept asking off-topic questions, and Cate had to keep steering him back to the purpose of her visit.
And then he asked how she got a cat in the movie to do what she wanted it to do.
And that's when she snapped. Check it out.

Defect & Head for the Border
Taco Bell launched a new ad campaign yesterday to promote its breakfast menu.
And it's taking aim right between the eyes of a certain clown who routinely provides the "same same same" breakfast.
The long-form ad looks as gray as anything George Orwell ever envisioned, and it has a feel like the Divergent films.
Check it out. Unless you're afraid of clowns. Then you might want to think twice...

And Now, It's Two Direction
You can thank One Direction for the high-pitched wailing coming from your local high school yesterday afternoon.
That's when they made it official: Zayn Malik is leaving the group, and it's permanent.
A week ago, Zayn stopped touring, saying he was stressed.
Now, he wants to be a "normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight."
I'm sure that will happen...
Meanwhile, One Direction will continue to tour and record without Zayn.
Which is a pretty normal reaction for a bunch of 22-year-olds, don't you think?

A for Effort, But We'll Call This a Fail
You've got to give this guy credit.
A motorist traveling on Interstate 5 outside Tacoma, Washington was using the car-pool lane.
To legally do that, you have to actually have at least one passenger.
This guy did - except it wasn't a real passenger. It was a cardboard cutout of the Most Interesting Man in the World.
You know, the white-bearded guy from the Dos Equis ads?
A state trooper noticed, and pulled the guy over.
The punishment: $124 fine.
The reward: this very cool tweet from the Washington State Patrol.
I don't always violate the HOV lane law...but when I do, I get a $124 ticket! We'll give him an A for creativity! 👮👍 pic.twitter.com/hNbQDuBWfc
— Trooper Guy Gill (@wspd1pio) March 24, 2015

Native Steeplebush Adds Beauty and Attracts Butterflies
It's not your common spirea found in many commercial and home landscapes; but rather it's less utilized relative and North American native shrub known as steeplebush or hardhack (Spiraea tomentosa).
This adaptable shrub is hardy in zones 3 to 8. It prefers full sun, acidic sandy soils with wet to moist conditions, but it will tolerate light shade and a wide range of soils.
Steeplebush grows 2 to 4 feet tall and much wider as its suckering nature allows it to form colonies. This makes it a great choice for pond side plantings, hedges, natural areas, rain gardens and bank stabilization.
The spires of pink flowers appear from mid-summer into fall. Light deadheading will encourage more bloom. The attractive flowers help attract beneficial insects like bees and butterflies. It's a nectar source for the rare Karner Blue butterfly and the leaves are a favorite food for several caterpillars and moths.
A bit more information: Another native spirea, Meadowseet (Spiraea alba), produces spires of white flowers and is hardy in zones 3 to 7. It makes a great cut flower and is a butterfly favorite.
For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com